Craig Kimbrel signed a major-league contract with the Houston Astros after being released from a minor-league deal with Texas. Kimbrel spent just over two months in Triple-A following a June signing one day after electing free agency from Atlanta, and he has made only one MLB appearance this season: a single scoreless inning. Across Triple-A stints he owns a 3.00 ERA in 39 innings with a 31.5% strikeout rate and nearly a 13% walk rate. His fastball velocity has dipped to the low-90s, but his strikeout ability intrigued Houston amid a struggling bullpen that needs reinforcements.
Kimbrel spent a little more than two months in Triple-A with Texas. He signed in June one day after electing free agency from the Braves. That followed a bizarre sequence in which Kimbrel's initial team called him up for one day. The nine-time All-Star labored through a scoreless inning in his lone appearance. That remains his only MLB outing this season. Kimbrel has otherwise divided the year between the upper minors affiliates of Atlanta and Texas.
Between the two organizations, Kimbrel carries a flat 3.00 earned run average in 39 minor league innings. He has recorded an excellent 31.5% strikeout percentage but has walked nearly 13% of batters faced. It's a similar profile as Kimbrel has shown in the big leagues in recent seasons. He had a strikeout rate in the 31-34% range while issuing free passes between 10-13% of the time in both 2023 and '24.
While the Triple-A results are solid, Kimbrel's raw stuff hasn't been as sharp this year. His fastball has been in the 92-93 MPH range in Triple-A; he averaged less than 92 on the heater in his only big league outing. He'd sat closer to 94 last year and was up to 96 as recently as 2023. He missed enough bats against minor league hitters to intrigue the Astros, whose bullpen has struggled of late.
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